Source audio identifiers for digital communications

ABSTRACT

Audibly informing a recipient of an arrival of a digital communication from a sender includes receiving a digital communication from a sender directed to a recipient and determining whether the digital communication is associated with an audio identifier that identifies the sender of the digital communication and that is designated by the sender of the digital communication. Perception by the recipient of the audio identifier is conditioned on whether the digital communication is determined to be associated with the audio identifier. The audio identifier is perceived prior to or concurrent with perception of the digital communication by the recipient.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.10/747,694, filed Dec. 30, 2003, titled “SOURCE AUDIO IDENTIFIERS FORDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS”, now allowed, and claims priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/474,207, filed May 30, 2003,titled “SPOKEN USER IDENTIFIER” and to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/450,696, filed Mar. 3, 2003, and titled “BUDDY RINGTONES FOR MOBILE DEVICES”. The contents of the prior applications areincorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to communications systems which enable exchangeof information between users through a call or through transmission of adigital communication.

BACKGROUND

Typical telephones generate an audible ringing tone to indicate anincoming call. Some telephones allow the recipient to tailor the ringingtone to a given caller and thereby enable the recipient to become awareof both the incoming call and the identity of the caller when hearingthe ringing tone.

Similarly, many computer systems used for the exchange of digitalcommunications (e.g., instant messages or e-mails) allow a recipient toselect that a message sound be played upon receipt of a digitalcommunication. The message sound may be played every time a digitalcommunication is received, irrespective of the identity of the sender.

Both the ringing tone and the message sound provide the benefit ofinforming the recipient of the incoming call or received digitalcommunication without requiring the recipient to look at a screen or adisplay.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, audibly informing a recipient of an arrival of adigital communication from a sender includes receiving a digitalcommunication from a sender directed to a recipient and determiningwhether the digital communication is associated with an audio identifierthat identifies the sender of the digital communication and that isdesignated by the sender of the digital communication. Perception by therecipient of the audio identifier is conditioned on whether the digitalcommunication is determined to be associated with the audio identifier.The audio identifier is perceived prior to or concurrent with perceptionof the digital communication by the recipient.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the digital communication may be an instant message, e-mail, orvoice mail. The audio identifier may be a spoken version of a useridentifier of the sender.

Determining whether the digital communication is associated with anaudio identifier may include determining whether an audio identifier hasbeen received from the sender or received from the sender with thedigital communication. Determining whether the digital communication isassociated with an audio identifier may include accessing a data storebased on a user identifier of the sender that may be included in thedigital communication. The user identifier may be an e-mail address, aninstant messaging handle, or a screen name.

The recipient perception of the audio identifier also may be conditionedon whether the recipient is available to receive the digitalcommunication. If the recipient is not available to receive the digitalcommunication, the digital communication may be discarded or may bedeposited in a data store for later retrieval.

The recipient perception of the audio identifier also may be conditionedon whether communication exchange preferences associated with therecipient allow the recipient to perceive the audio identifier. Therecipient may be allowed to perceive the audio identifier and/or thedigital communication when the communication exchange preferencesexplicitly include a setting indicating that the recipient is allowed toperceive the audio identifier. The recipient may not be allowed toperceive the audio identifier and/or the digital communication when thecommunication exchange preferences explicitly include a settingindicating that the recipient is not allowed to perceive the audioidentifier. The settings may be set by the recipient in response to aquery.

Audibly informing a recipient of an arrival of a digital communicationmay further include enabling the recipient to perceive a sender profileor to perceive a user interface and allowing the recipient to perceivethe audio identifier if the recipient selects a user interface elementthat corresponds to authorization of the audio identifier.

The digital communication may be a phone call and the sender may be acaller. Receiving a digital communication may include receiving a phonecall directed to the recipient. Determining whether the digitalcommunication is associated with an audio identifier may includedetermining whether the phone call is associated with an audioidentifier that identifies the caller and that is designated by thecaller. Perception of the audio identifier by a recipient may beconditioned on whether the phone call is determined to be associatedwith the audio identifier. The audio identifier may be perceived as aring tone for the phone call. Enabling the recipient to perceive theaudio identifier may include playing the audio identifier multiple timesin repetition to serve as a ring tone for the phone call.

In another general aspect, a user interface for enabling a recipient ofa digital communication from a sender to authorize or reject a sourceaudio identifier may include a first interface element, a secondinterface element, and a third interface element. The first interfaceelement is structured and arranged to provide notification of a digitalcommunication that has been received. The second interface element isstructured and arranged to provide notification of an audio identifierthat identifies the sender of the digital communication and that isdesignated by the sender of the digital communication. The thirdinterface element is structured and arranged to enable the recipient ofthe digital communication to authorize or reject presentation of theaudio identifier in advance of audio identifier presentation.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the first interface element may display sender profileinformation. The third interface element may be additionally structuredand arranged to enable the recipient of the digital communication toauthorize or reject presentation of the digital communication.

The third interface element may include a set of fourth interfaceelements selectable by the recipient to effect authorization orrejection of the audio identifier presentation. The set of fourthinterface elements may include an interface element selectable toauthorize presentation of the digital communication and the audioidentifier, to authorize presentation of the digital communication butreject presentation of the audio identifier, and to authorizepresentation of the digital communication and authorize presentation ofan audio identifier for the sender that reveals the sender identity butthat obscures the sender designated audio identifier.

The set of fourth interface elements may include an interface elementselectable to deposit the digital communication in a data store forlater retrieval by the recipient, an interface element to authorize orreject presentation of an audio identifier upon receipt of each futuredigital communication from the sender, and an interface elementselectable to authorize or reject presentation of the audio identifierupon receipt of each future digital communication from the senderconditioned on whether the audio identifier is subsequently changed bythe recipient.

The digital communication may be a phone call and the sender may be acaller and the first interface element may be structured and arranged toprovide notification of a phone call from a caller. The second interfaceelement may be structured and arranged to provide notification of anaudio identifier that identifies the caller and that is designated bythe caller. The third interface element may be structured and arrangedto enable the recipient of the phone call to authorize or rejectpresentation of the audio identifier in advance of audio identifierpresentation.

In another general aspect, a computer system for audibly informing arecipient of an arrival of a digital communication from a senderincludes a data store and a digital communication processor. The datastore stores audio identifiers. The digital communication processorreceives a digital communication from a sender directed to a recipientand determines whether the digital communication is associated with anaudio identifier that identifies the sender of the digital communicationand that is designated by the sender of the digital communication. Thedigital communication processor accesses the audio identifier from thedata store and conditions perception by the recipient of the audioidentifier on whether the digital communication is determined to beassociated with the audio identifier. The audio identifier is perceivedby the recipient prior to or concurrent with perception of the digitalcommunication by the recipient.

In another general aspect, informing a recipient of an arrival of adigital communication from a sender includes receiving a digitalcommunication from a sender directed to a recipient and determiningwhether the digital communication is associated with an identifier thatidentifies the sender of the digital communication and that isdesignated by the sender of the digital communication. Perception of thedigital communication by the recipient is conditioned on whether thedigital communication is determined to be associated with theidentifier. The identifier is perceived by the recipient prior to orconcurrent with perception of the digital communication by therecipient.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the identifier may be a video image designated by the sender oran audio visual presentation designated by the sender.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for enabling theexchange of digital communications with source audio identifiers.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for enabling presentationof a source audio identifier upon receipt of a digital communication.

FIG. 3A is flow chart illustrating an operation of the process of FIG. 2for sending a query to a recipient of a digital communication asking therecipient whether a source audio identifier accompanying the digitalcommunication should be authorized or rejected.

FIG. 3B is a user interface that may be presented to a user upon receiptof a digital communication with an accompanying source audio identifier.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a process for enabling presentationof a source audio identifier upon receipt of a digital communicationafter a communication session has already begun.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating another process for enablingpresentation of a source audio identifier upon receipt of a digitalcommunication.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an operation of the process of FIG.5 for sending a query to a recipient of a digital communication askingthe recipient whether a source audio identifier accompanying the digitalcommunication should be authorized or rejected.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a system for enabling exchange ofdigital communications with source audio identifiers over a directconnection between a sender computer system and a recipient computersystem.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a process for enabling apresentation of a source audio identifier upon receipt of a digitalcommunication from a sender computer system over a direct connection.

FIG. 9 is block diagram illustrating a telephone system for enablingtelephone calls with source audio identifiers.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for enabling apresentation of a source audio identifier as a ringing signal toindicate an incoming call from a caller.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating another process for enabling apresentation of a source audio identifier as a ringing signal toindicate an incoming call from a caller.

FIGS. 12-15 are block diagrams illustrating exemplary concatenated audiomessages.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating a process for creating and enablingperception of a concatenated audio message that includesrecipient-specified sounds.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary concatenated audiomessage used to inform a user of the occurrence of an event.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating a process for creating and enablingperception of a concatenated audio message upon detection of theoccurrence of an event.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Callers or senders of digital communications may push source audioidentifiers to recipients in order to customize or personalizecommunication exchanges with the recipients. The caller or sender mayselect a source audio identifier, making source audio identifiersaccessible to a call recipient phone or recipient computer system. Thecall recipient phone or recipient computer system enables the recipientto authorize or reject the source audio identifier. If the recipientauthorizes the source audio identifier, the call recipient phone orrecipient computer system plays the source audio identifier each timethe caller calls the recipient or each time the sender sends a digitalcommunication to the recipient.

A source audio identifier typically is stored in a digital filecontaining audio data that is used to identify the sender or caller. Thesource audio identifier may be, for example, a data file encoded usingMPEG Layer III Audio (MP3) and may range from 120 kilobits in size to 2megabits in size. A typical source audio identifier, when converted toaudio (i.e., “played”), may produce 1-2 seconds of sound. For example, asource audio identifier may be the spoken version of a sender's useridentifier (e.g., a spoken version of the sender's instant messaginghandle, e-mail address, or screen name, in the voice of the sender). Thesource audio identifier also may be any arbitrary sound that the senderdesignates as indicative of the identity of the sender (e.g., a barnyardanimal sound, a sound from a popular television show, a sound effect,and a sound related to human biological functions or behaviors).

The source audio identifier performs two functions when played: (1) thesource audio identifier informs the recipient of an incoming call fromthe caller or, additionally or alternatively, informs the recipient ofreceipt of a digital communication from the sender; and (2) the sourceaudio identifier indicates, to a recipient, the identity, category orcharacteristic of the source of the digital communication. Accordingly,the source audio identifier is a signaling mechanism and, therefore, islogically independent from the content of the call or the content ofdigital communications exchanged between the sender and the recipient.

The source audio identifier may be a single sound that identifies thesender or, alternatively, may be a combined audio message formed frommultiple sounds that are, for example, concatenated or blended togetherto identify not only the sender but also one or more characteristics ofthe sender or of the communication sent by the sender. The combinedaudio message may include one or more identity sounds and one or morecharacteristic sounds, or it may be exclusive of either. The identitysounds identify the individual sender while the characteristic soundsdescribe, qualify, or characterize the sender or the communication sentby the sender. For example, an identity sound may be a spoken screenname, the sound of a monkey specified by the sender, or arecipient-designated sound associated with a group or category ofcontacts or a contact characteristic to indicate the identity of thesender, and a characteristic sound may be a high-pitched alarm sound toindicate that the communication is designated by the sender as a highpriority communication. As more sounds are concatenated, the callrecipient may be provided with increasing levels of informationregarding the communication and its source.

More particularly, in one implementation, the concatenated audio messagemay include one or more recipient-specified sounds. For example, therecipient may specify a characteristic sound for that sender thatindicates that the sender is a member of the buddy list of therecipient, or of a particular buddy group within the buddy list. Whenreceiving a communication from that sender, the recipient may, forexample, hear a sound indicating that the sender is a member of therecipient's buddy list, followed by a different sound indicating a buddygroup for the sender, followed by an audio identifier specified by thesender. In this example, the recipient is made aware of both the senderidentity and of their relationship to the recipient on several levels.

Concatenated audio messages may be used in communications systems thatdo not support sender-specified sounds. In this implementation, thesounds in the concatenated audio messages may be specified by therecipient or may be more globally defined. The concatenated audiomessage still performs the functions of identifying that a communicationor call has been received, identifying the identity of the sender, and,if applicable, identifying characteristics of the sender or of thecommunication sent by the sender.

Concatenated audio messages may be used to audibly inform a user ofcommunication-related events that are not related to receipt of acommunication or call. For example, concatenated audio messages may beused in an instant messaging context to audibly inform a user ofpresence state changes of a member of the buddy list of the user.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 for enabling the exchange of digitalcommunications with source audio identifiers includes a sender computersystem 110 that sends a digital communication to a digital communicationhandling system (DCHS) 140 through a network 130. The DCHS 140identifies a source audio identifier associated with the sender to thedigital communication and enables a recipient computer system 120 toaccess the digital communication and the source audio identifier throughthe network 130. The recipient computer system 120 accesses or otherwisereceives the digital communication and the source audio identifier andenables a recipient to perceive the source audio identifier prior to orconcurrent to enabling the recipient to perceive the digitalcommunication.

A digital communication typically includes a digital file such as, forexample, an electronic mail (e-mail), an instant message (IM), avoicemail, having audio data, video data, general binary data, or textdata (e.g., encoded in American Standard Code for InformationInterchange (ASCII) format). A digital communication is associated witha sender user identifier and a recipient user identifier. The sender andrecipient user identifiers are data tags or labels used to identify thesender and the recipient, respectively, and may be, for example, e-mailaddresses, instant messaging handles, Internet Protocol addresses,screen names, and/or phone numbers.

The sender computer system 110 is configured to send a digitalcommunication to the DCHS 140 through the network 130. The sendercomputer system 110 typically includes a device 110A capable ofexecuting instructions under the command of a controller 110B. Thedevice 110A may be a general purpose computer such as a workstation orpersonal computer or may be a special purpose computer such as aportable digital assistant (PDA), a landline phone with digitalprocessing capabilities, or a mobile phone with digital processingcapabilities. The controller 124 may command and direct communicationsbetween the device 110A of the sender computer system 110 and the DCHS140. The controller 110B may be a digital communications interfaceapplication that enables transmission of digital communications to theDCHS 140 using a communications protocol. For example, in ane-mail-oriented implementation, the digital communications interfaceapplication may be an e-mail application and the communications protocolmay be, for example, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). The device110A may be connected to the controller 110B by a wired or wireless datapathway 110C capable of delivering data.

In another implementation, the sender computer system 110 is configuredto send both a digital communication and a source audio identifier tothe DCHS 140. In this implementation, the DCHS 140 does not access andsend a source audio identifier, but rather, relays the received sourceaudio identifier and the received digital communication to the recipientcomputer system 120. The source audio identifier also may be stored bythe recipient computer system 120 rather than by the DCHS 140 or by thesender computer system 110.

In yet another implementation, the sender computer system 110 isadditionally configured to send to the DCHS 140 a user profilecorresponding to the sender (i.e., a sender profile). The DCHS 140, inturn, may enable access to all or portions of the sender profile to therecipient computer system 120. The sender profile may include senderidentity information and other information related to the sender suchas, for example, interests, hobbies, marital status, location,occupation, gender, a personal quote, and favorite gadgets. The senderidentity information may include any type of identifier (e.g., text orvideo) that may be used to identify the sender to the recipient. Forexample, the sender identity information may include a video imageassociated with the sender such as a picture of the sender.

The sender computer system 110 may send the source audio identifierand/or the sender profile each time a digital communication is sent tothe recipient computer system 120 or, alternatively, may send the sourceaudio identifier and/or the sender profile only at the beginning of acommunication session with the recipient computer system 120. Thefollowing description is directed primarily to the communication andperception of the source audio identifier, but described concepts andconfigurations may also apply to the other aspects of a sender profile.

The recipient computer system 120 is configured to access and enable arecipient to perceive a digital communication and a source audioidentifier. The recipient computer system 120 receives or otherwiseaccesses the digital communication and the source audio identifier fromthe DCHS 140 through the network 130. In another implementation, therecipient computer system 120 also receives or otherwise accesses all ora portion of the sender profile from the DCHS 140. The recipientcomputer system 120 typically includes a device 120A capable ofexecuting instructions under the command of a controller 120B. Thedevice 120A may be a general purpose computer such as a workstation orpersonal computer or may be a special purpose computer such as aportable digital assistant (PDA), a landline phone with digitalprocessing capabilities, or a mobile phone with digital processingcapabilities. The controller 124 may command and direct communicationsbetween the device 120A of the recipient computer system 120 and theDCHS 140. The controller 120B may be a digital communications interfaceapplication that enables receipt of digital communications from DCHS 140using a communications protocol. In an e-mail-oriented implementation,the digital communications interface application may be an e-mailapplication and the communications protocol may be, for example, PostOffice Protocol (POP) or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP). Thedevice 120A may be connected to the controller 120B by a wired orwireless data pathway 120C capable of delivering data.

The device 120A typically includes a data store that may be used forstoring source audio identifiers and/or sender profiles associated withsenders with whom a communication session is ongoing or with whom acommunication session has already taken place. The device 120A may storea source audio identifier and/or a sender profile at the beginning of acommunication session and access the stored source audio identifier asnecessary throughout the communication session in accordance with usercommunication exchange preferences. The device 120A also may include arepository of source audio identifiers and/or sender profiles fromprevious communication sessions. The user communication exchangepreferences also may be stored in the device 120A.

The network 130 is configured to enable direct or indirectcommunications between the sender computer system 110, the recipientcomputer system 120, and the DCHS 140. Examples of the network 130include the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks(LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks (e.g.,Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), and Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)), radio, television,cable, satellite, and/or any other delivery or tunneling mechanism forcarrying data.

The DCHS 140 includes a digital communication processor 142, an audioidentifier data store 144, and a configuration data store 146. Thedigital communication processor 142 is a computer system configured toreceive a digital communication from the sender computer system 110 anddetermine whether to discard the digital communication, deposit thedigital communication in a data store for subsequent retrieval by therecipient computer system 120, or send the digital communication to therecipient computer system 120. The digital communication processor 142may send the digital communication to the recipient computer system 120with or without an attached source audio identifier.

The digital communication processor 142 may access the configurationdata store 146 to retrieve the sender profile and may send the senderprofile (or aspects thereof) to the recipient computer system 120 alongwith the digital communication. The digital communication processor 142also may access the configuration data store 146 to retrieve usercommunication exchange preferences associated with the potentialrecipient of the digital communication.

The user communication exchange preferences include one or more lists ofuser identifiers that may be accessed by the digital communicationprocessor 142 when processing the digital communications. The lists mayinclude a list of user identifiers from which digital communicationswill not be authorized (i.e., a black list), a list of user identifiersfrom which digital communications will be authorized but associatedsource audio identifiers will not be authorized or played to therecipient (i.e., a gray list), and/or a list of user identifiers fromwhich digital communications will be authorized and associated sourceaudio identifiers will be authorized and played (i.e., a white list). Ifthe digital communication processor 142 receives a digital communicationand the user identifier of the sender of the digital communication isincluded on the black list, the digital communication is discarded and,in some implementations, an error or notification message is sent to thesender computer system 110. If the digital communication processor 142receives a digital communication and the user identifier of the senderis included on the gray list, the digital communication is sent to therecipient computer system 120 without the corresponding source audioidentifier. If the digital communication processor 142 receives adigital communication and the user identifier of the sender is includedon the white list, the digital communication and the correspondingsource audio identifier are sent to the recipient computer system 120.

In one implementation, once a sender is included on the white, gray, orblack lists of a recipient, the sender remains on the lists irrespectiveof changes in the sender's source audio identifier. In anotherimplementation, the configuration data store 146 or the data store inthe recipient computer system 120 stores the source audio identifiers ofthe senders included on the white, gray, or black lists. When the DCHS140 or recipient computer system 120 receives a digital communication,including a source audio identifier, the DCHS 140 or the recipientcomputer system 120 determines whether the sender is on one of the listsand, if the sender is on one of the lists, verifies that the attachedsource audio identifier is the same as the stored source audioidentifier. If the attached source audio identifier is the same as thestored source audio identifier, the DCHS 140 or the recipient computersystem 120 may authorize or reject the source audio identifier inaccordance with the user communication exchange preferences. However, ifthe attached source audio identifier is different than the stored sourceaudio identifier, the recipient computer system 120 may request that theuser authorize or reject the new source audio identifier from thesender. The query may be presented in a user interface such as, forexample, the user interface 300 shown in FIG. 3B.

If the user identifier of the sender of the digital communication is notincluded on the black, gray, or white lists, the digital communicationprocessor 142 processes the digital communication in accordance with adefault response algorithm that may be specified by the recipient andstored as part of the user communication exchange preferences of therecipient (i.e., stored in the configuration data store 146 or,additionally or alternatively, stored in the device 120A of therecipient computer system 120). For example, the recipient may choose adefault response algorithm that sends the source audio identifier andthe digital communication to the recipient computer system 120 if theuser identifier of the sender is not on any of the lists. The recipientcomputer system 120 may then enable the user to perceive both thedigital communication and the source audio identifier.

In another example, the recipient may choose a default responsealgorithm that results in the digital communication processor 142sending a query to the recipient computer system 120 which prompts therecipient to authorize or reject the digital communication and/or thesource audio identifier. The recipient computer system 120 may receivethe query, which may include sender profile information accessed fromthe configuration data store 146, and may provide the recipient with allor a portion of this sender profile information when asking therecipient whether the recipient will authorize or reject the digitalcommunication and/or source audio identifier. The recipient also mayhave the option to place the sender user identifier on the black, gray,or white lists stored as part of the user communication preferences ofthe recipient. The digital communication processor 142 may receive aresponse to the query from the recipient computer system 120 and processthe digital communication accordingly. The query may, for example, bepresented to the user through a visual user interface such as the userinterface 300 shown in FIG. 3B.

The digital communication processor 142 typically accesses the usercommunication exchange preferences including one or more of the white,gray, and black lists and the default response algorithm at thebeginning of a communication session between the sender and therecipient. Once the appropriate processing has been determined,subsequent digital communications sent by the sender computer system 110are processed by the digital communication processor 142 in accordancewith the already determined preferences. The digital communicationprocessor 142 may send the source audio identifier with each subsequentdigital communication from the sender; or, alternatively, the digitalcommunication processor 142 may send the source audio identifier withthe first digital communication sent at the start of the communicationsession. The recipient computer system 120 may then simply store thesource audio identifier after receipt of the first digital communicationand may access and play the stored source audio identifier for eachsubsequent digital communication received from the digital communicationprocessor 142 during that communication session.

The digital communication processor 142 also may be communicativelycoupled to a login system or an online presence detection system thatkeeps track of the login status or online presence of the useridentifier corresponding to the recipient. For example, in an instantmessaging context, the digital communication processor 142 maycommunicate with the instant messaging login system to track useridentifiers that are logged in and able to receive and send instantmessages. In an e-mail context, the digital communication processor 142may communicate with an e-mail login system to track user identifiersthat are logged in and able to receive and send e-mail. If a recipientof a digital communication is not logged in or otherwise online, thedigital communication processor 142 may deposit the digitalcommunication in a data store corresponding to the recipient (e.g.,e-mails may be stored in the mailbox of the recipient) or may discardthe digital communication (e.g., instant messages are typicallydiscarded if the recipient is not online).

In another implementation, the digital communication processor 142 doesnot access user communication exchange preferences for the recipientfrom the configuration data store 146 and does not access a source audioidentifier from the audio identifier data store 144. Instead, thedigital communication processor 142 receives the source audio identifierfrom the sender computer system 110 with each digital communication. Thedigital communication processor 142, in turn, sends the digitalcommunication with the source audio identifier to the recipient computersystem 120. The recipient computer system 120 locally accesses andapplies the user communication exchange preferences upon receipt of thedigital communication and the source audio identifier. Based on the usercommunication exchange preferences, the recipient computer system 120discards the received digital communication or enables the recipient toperceive the received digital communication. The recipient computersystem 120 also either suppresses or plays the received source audioidentifier with each digital communication in accordance with the usercommunication exchange preferences.

In another version of this implementation, the sender computer system110 only sends the source audio identifier in the beginning of thecommunication session and not with each subsequent digitalcommunication. The recipient computer system 120 stores the source audioidentifier in a data store included in the device 120A and subsequentlyaccesses and plays it with each subsequent digital communicationreceived from the sender computer system 110 during that or subsequentcommunication sessions involving the sender.

The audio identifier data store 144 includes one or more data storagedevices configured to store the source audio identifiers. The sourceaudio identifiers may be stored in compressed format and/or in multipledifferent formats (e.g., .WAV or MP3 files) to ensure compatibility withthe recipient computer system 120 and to increase speed of transmission.The source audio identifiers may be indexed by user identifier. Theaudio identifier data store 144 may be part of the DCHS 140. In anotherimplementation, all or a portion of the audio identifier data store 144may be located in a computer system or in a data storage device externalto the DCHS 140.

The configuration data store 146 includes one or more data storagedevices configured to store user profile information and usercommunication exchange preferences. The information in the configurationdata store 146 is typically collected during service registration orservice setup. The user profile information and user communicationexchange preferences may be indexed by user identifier. The audioidentifier data store 144 and the configuration data store 146 may beintegrated into a single data store that stores user audio identifiers,user profile information, and user communication exchange preferences.

FIG. 2 shows a process 200 for enabling a presentation of a source audioidentifier upon receipt of a first digital communication receivedthrough a digital communication handling system (DCHS) at the beginningof a communication session between a sender computer system and arecipient computer system. For convenience, particular componentsdescribed with respect to FIG. 1 are referenced as performing theprocess 200. However, similar methodologies may be applied in otherimplementations where different components are used to define thestructure of the system, or where the functionality is distributeddifferently among the components shown by FIG. 1.

The sender computer system 110 sends a digital communication addressedto the recipient computer system 120 (202). The digital communicationincludes or may be associated with a sender user identifier and arecipient user identifier.

The digital communication processor 142 receives the digitalcommunication (204) and accesses the configuration data store 146 toretrieve the user communication exchange preferences corresponding tothe associated recipient user identifier (206). The digitalcommunication processor 142 determines whether the recipient prohibitsperception of digital communications from the sender by checking whetherthe sender user identifier is included on a black list of the recipient(208). If the recipient prohibits perception of digital communicationsfrom the sender, the digital communication is discarded (210). In someimplementations, the digital communication processor 142 mayadditionally send a notification message to the sender computer system110 indicating that the digital communication was not successfully sentto the recipient (not shown).

If the recipient authorizes digital communications from the sender, thedigital communication processor 142 determines whether the usercorresponding to the recipient user identifier is logged in or otherwiseavailable to receive digital communications from the sender computersystem 110 (212). The digital communication processor 142 may query orotherwise access a login system or a presence detection system that maybe local or remote to the DCHS 140.

If the recipient is not logged in, online, or otherwise available toreceive digital communications, the digital communication processor 142may either discard the digital communication or deposit the digitalcommunication in a data store associated with the recipient useridentifier for later retrieval by the recipient (214). For example, ifthe digital communication is an instant message, the instant message maybe discarded. On the other hand, if the digital communication is ane-mail, the e-mail may be deposited in the mailbox of the recipient. Insome implementations, the digital communication processor 142 mayadditionally send to the sender computer system 110 a notificationmessage indicating that the recipient is not available to receivecommunications and that the digital communication has been discarded or,alternatively, deposited for later retrieval.

If the recipient is logged in, online, or otherwise available to receivedigital communications, the digital communication processor 142 accessesthe sender profile from the configuration data store 146 (216). Thedigital communication processor 142 determines whether the recipientauthorizes digital communications with source audio identifiers based onthe recipient communication exchange preferences (218). For example, ifthe sender user identifier is included on the gray list of therecipient, the recipient does not authorize digital communications withsource audio identifiers. If the sender user identifier is included onthe white list of the recipient, the recipient authorizes digitalcommunications with source audio identifiers. If the sender useridentifier is not included on the white list or the gray list of therecipient, the recipient will authorize digital communications withsource audio identifiers only if authorization is in accordance with thedefault response algorithm established for the recipient or if therecipient manually specifies their desire or willingness to authorize.

FIG. 3A shows one implementation of operation 218 using an exemplarydefault response algorithm that may be used to determine whether thesource audio identifier should be authorized or rejected. The digitalcommunication processor 142 determines whether the sender is included onthe white list of the recipient (218 a). If the sender is included onthe white list, the digital communication processor 142 proceeds tooperation 228. If the sender is not included on the white list, thedigital communication processor 142 determines whether the sender isincluded on the gray list of the recipient (218 b). If the sender isincluded on the gray list, the digital communication processor 142proceeds to operation 220. If the sender is not included on the white orgray lists, the digital communication processor 142 executes the defaultresponse algorithm by sending a query to the recipient computer system120 asking the recipient whether to authorize or reject the source audioidentifier (218 c).

The recipient computer system 120 receives the query (218 d) and enablesthe recipient to perceive and respond to the query (218 e). For example,the recipient may perceive the query in a pop-up window that includes anoption to authorize the source audio identifier and an option to rejectthe source audio identifier. The pop-up window may display all or aportion of the sender profile. Additionally or alternatively, the pop-upwindow may present options to add the sender to the white, gray, orblack lists of the recipient. Once the recipient responds to the queryby selecting one or more options, the recipient computer system 120sends the response to the digital communication processor 142 (218 g).An example of a user interface that may be used to query the recipientis shown in FIG. 3B.

If the selected options include adding the sender to the white, gray, orblack lists of the recipient, the digital communication processor mayaccess the configuration data store 146 and add the sender useridentifier to the appropriate list or lists associated with therecipient user identifier. The digital communication processor 142 alsodetermines whether the selected options correspond to authorization orrejection of the digital communication (218 h). If the selected optionsreject the digital communication, the digital communication processor142 discards the digital communication (218 i). If the selected optionsauthorize the digital communication, the digital communication processor142 determines whether the selected options correspond to authorizationor rejection of the source audio identifier (218 j). If the selectedoptions authorize the source audio identifier, the digital communicationprocessor 142 proceeds to operation 228. If the selected options rejectthe sender audio identifier the digital communication processor 142proceeds to operation 220.

FIG. 3B shows a user interface 300 that may be presented to the user bythe recipient computer system 120 upon receipt of an incoming messagewith an accompanying source audio identifier. The user interface 300includes a statement 310 informing the user of the existence of anincoming message with an accompanying source audio identifier andincludes sender profile information 320. The sender profile information320 may include the name of the sender 321 (e.g., Bob Devane), the IMhandle of the sender 322 (e.g., BobD123), the e-mail address of thesender 323 (e.g., BobDev@hotmail.com), the direct number of the sender324 (e.g., (703) 123-4567), the time and date when the message is beingsent 326 (e.g., 5:45 EDT on 5/17/2002), and other sender profileinformation 325. The other sender profile information 325 may include,for example, the geographic location of the sender (e.g., Dulles, Va.)and information stored in an address book or calendar that is accessiblebased on the identity of the sender (e.g., Meeting scheduled with Bob onSaturday 7-12-03). Such information may be stored locally at therecipient computer system 120 or may be accessible from a remote device(e.g., DCHS 140) across the data network 130. In another implementation,the user interface 300 includes a subset of the sender profileinformation 320 displayed in FIG. 3B.

The user interface 300 also includes a set of option buttons 330 thatmay be selected by the user to react to the message. The option buttons330 may include, for example, an option button to sample the sourceaudio identifier 331, an option button to take the message and authorizethe source audio identifier 332, an option button to take the messageand use an audio identifier other than the source audio identifier(e.g., a default audio identifier) 334, and an option button to not takethe message 336. The option buttons may be selected to control thedisposition of the current message.

The user may select button 331 to hear or otherwise perceive the sourceaudio identifier prior to deciding how to dispose of the incomingmessage. Hearing the source audio identifier enables the user to make amore informed decision regarding whether to authorize or reject theaudio identifier. The user may then select one of the other buttons 332,334, 336 to dispose of the message.

Selecting the option button 332 to take the message with the sourceaudio identifier results in the digital communication and source audioidentifier being perceived by the recipient. Selecting the option button445 to take the message with a default audio identifier results in thedigital communication and a default audio identifier being perceived bythe recipient. In yet another implementation, upon selecting button 334,the recipient is prompted to specify an audio identifier or,alternatively, specify no audio identifier to indicate receipt of thecurrent digital communication from the sender. The recipient-specifiedaudio identifier may be used for future communication received from thesender if checkbox 335 is selected as discussed below. Selecting theoption button to not take the message 336 results in the recipientneither perceiving the digital communication nor the source audioidentifier. In another implementation, the user interface 300 includesan option button to take the message without any audio identifier beingplayed or otherwise perceived by the recipient. The user interface 300closes or is otherwise disabled upon the recipient selecting one of theoption buttons 330.

Next to the option buttons 332, 334, and 336 are checkboxes 333, 335,and 337, respectively. Unlike the option buttons 330 which handledisposition of the current digital communication received from thesender, the checkboxes 333, 335, and 337 may be selected (i.e.,“checked”) to control the disposition of future digital communicationsreceived from the sender. The user interface 300 allows the user toselect none or one of the three checkboxes. If the recipient selectscheckbox 333, the sender user identifier is placed on the white list ofthe recipient upon selection of one of the option buttons 330. If therecipient selects checkbox 335, the sender user identifier is placed onthe gray list of the recipient upon selection of one of the optionbuttons 330. If the recipient selects option 337, the sender useridentifier is placed on the black list of the recipient upon selectionof one of the option buttons 330. Additionally or alternatively, theuser interface 300 may include checkboxes or buttons (not shown) thatenable the user to specify that the source audio identifier or defaultaudio identifier should be played only upon receipt of futurecommunications that are at the beginning of a communication session witha sender rather than upon receipt of every future communication from thesender in a communication session.

If the recipient does not select any of the checkboxes 333, 335, or 337,any future digital communication received from the sender associatedwith a source audio identifier will result in displaying the userinterface 300 again and once again prompting the recipient to selectoptions regarding how the digital communication will be processed.Alternatively, the user interface 300 may be displayed only once for agiven communication session, and thus, not selecting any of thecheckboxes 333, 335, and 337 results in displaying the user interface300 again only at the beginning of a future communication session withthe sender.

The user interface 300 may vary depending on the capabilities of therecipient computer system 120. A recipient computer system 120 with morelimited capabilities may provide less sender profile information 320 andless options 330 while recipient computer systems 120 with greatercapabilities may provide more sender profile information 320 and moreoptions 330.

Referring again to FIG. 2, if the recipient rejects the source audioidentifier, the digital communication processor 142 sends or enables therecipient computer system 120 to access the sender profile and thedigital communication (220). The recipient computer system 120 accessesor receives the sender profile and digital communication (222), storesthe sender profile (224), and enables the recipient to perceive thedigital communication and the sender profile (226). The recipient mayperceive the digital communication and the sender profile through a userinterface specific to the type of digital communication received. Forexample, if the digital communication is an instant message, the instantmessage may be displayed in a dialog window and the sender profile maybe accessed by the user by selecting the IM handle of the sender in thedialog window or in another window displaying a list of IM handles(e.g., a buddy list) selected by or otherwise associated with therecipient. If the digital communication is an e-mail message, the e-mailheader information may be displayed in an Inbox list, the e-mailcontents may be displayed upon selection of the e-mail from the list,and the sender profile information may be displayed upon selection ofthe e-mail address of the sender.

If the recipient authorizes digital communications with source audioidentifiers from the sender, the digital communication processor 142accesses the source audio identifier corresponding to the sender useridentifier from the audio identifier data store 146 (228). The digitalcommunication processor 142 sends or enables the recipient computersystem 120 to access the sender profile, the digital communication, andthe source audio identifier (230).

The recipient computer system 120 accesses or receives the senderprofile, source audio identifier, and digital communication (232), andstores the sender profile and source audio identifier (234). The sourceaudio identifier and sender profile may be stored, temporarily orpermanently, in a data store that is part of the recipient computersystem 120 or is remote but communicatively coupled to the recipientcomputer system 120. In another implementation, the recipient computersystem 120 renders but does not store the source audio identifier.

The recipient computer system 120 enables the recipient to perceive thesource audio identifier (236) prior to or concurrent with enabling therecipient to perceive the digital communication and sender profile(238). The recipient computer system 120 may enable the recipient toperceive the source audio identifier by converting the audio identifierto audio which may be heard by the recipient. The audio is heard shortlyafter receipt of the digital communication and thereby informs therecipient that a digital communication has been received from thatparticular sender.

In another implementation of process 200, the digital communicationprocessor 142 does not retrieve a sender profile and does not send orenable the recipient computer system 120 access to the sender profile.Instead the digital communication processor 142 sends the digitalcommunication without a sender profile and, if applicable, with a sourceaudio identifier to the recipient computer system 120.

FIG. 4 shows a process 400 for enabling a presentation of a source audioidentifier upon receipt of a digital communication received through adigital communication handling system after a communication session hasalready begun and the source audio identifier has already been stored bythe recipient computer system. For convenience, particular componentsdescribed with respect to FIG. 1 are referenced as performing theprocess 400. However, similar methodologies may be applied in otherimplementations where different components are used to define thestructure of the system, or where the functionality is distributeddifferently among the components shown by FIG. 1. Process 400 is used toprocess the digital communications sent after sending the first digitalcommunication in the communication session between the sender computersystem 110 and the recipient computer system 120. Process 400 assumesthat the recipient computer system 120 authorizes and has already storedthe source audio identifier.

The sender computer system 110 sends a digital communication addressedto the recipient computer system 120 (402). The digital communicationincludes or may be associated with a sender user identifier and arecipient user identifier. The digital communication processor 142receives the digital communication (404) and determines whether the usercorresponding to the recipient user identifier is still logged in or isotherwise still available to receive digital communications from thesender computer system 110 (406). The digital communication processor142 may query or otherwise access a login system or a presence detectionsystem that may be local or remote to the DCHS 140.

If the recipient is no longer logged in, online, or otherwise availableto receive digital communications, the digital communication processor142 may either discard the digital communication or deposit the digitalcommunication in a data store associated with the recipient useridentifier for later retrieval by the recipient (408). In someimplementations, the digital communication processor 142 sends anotification message to the sender computer system 110 indicating thatthe recipient is no longer available (not shown). If the recipient islogged in, online, or otherwise available to receive digitalcommunications, the digital communication processor 142 sends or enablesthe recipient computer system 120 to access the digital communication(410).

The recipient computer system 120 receives or accesses the digitalcommunication (412) and accesses the stored source audio identifiercorresponding to the sender user identifier of the received digitalcommunication (414). The recipient computer system 120 enables therecipient to perceive the source audio identifier (416) prior to orconcurrent to enabling the recipient to perceive the digitalcommunication (418).

Process 400 assumes that the recipient computer system 120 has alreadyreceived and stored a source audio identifier corresponding to thesender of the digital communication. However, if such a source audioidentifier had not been stored by the recipient computer system 120, therecipient computer system 120 may request and receive the source audioidentifier from the DCP 142. The recipient computer system 120 also mayrequest and receive a source audio identifier in an implementation inwhich the source audio identifier used to indicate receipt of a firstcommunication in a communication session is different than the sourceaudio identifier used to indicate receipt of subsequent communicationsin the communication session. FIG. 5 shows a process 500 for enabling apresentation of a source audio identifier upon receipt of a digitalcommunication received through a digital communication handling systemwherein the source audio identifier is stored at the sender computersystem and the recipient communication exchange preferences are storedat the recipient computer system. For convenience, particular componentsdescribed with respect to FIG. 5 are referenced as performing theprocess 500. However, similar methodologies may be applied in otherimplementations where different components are used to define thestructure of the system, or where the functionality is distributeddifferently among the components shown by FIG. 1. Process 500 isdifferent from processes 200 and 400 in that the sender computer system110, rather than the DCHP 140, stores the source audio identifiers andthe recipient computer system 110, rather than the DCHP 140, stores andapplies the recipient communication exchange preferences. Process 500minimizes the processing demands on the DCHP 140 by pushing the storageand intelligence to the sender and recipient computer systems.

The sender computer system 110 sends a digital communication addressedto the recipient computer system 120 and a source audio identifier(502). The digital communication includes or may be associated with asender user identifier and a recipient user identifier. The digitalcommunication processor 142 receives the digital communication andsource audio identifier (504) and determines whether the usercorresponding to the recipient user identifier is logged in or isotherwise available to receive digital communications from the sendercomputer system 110 (506). The digital communication processor 142 mayquery or otherwise access a login system or a presence detection systemthat may be local or remote to the DCHS 140.

If the recipient is not logged in, online, or otherwise available toreceive digital communications, the digital communication processor 142may either discard the digital communication or deposit the digitalcommunication in a data store associated with the recipient useridentifier for later retrieval by the recipient (508). In someimplementations, the digital communication processor 142 sends anotification message to the sender computer system 110 indicating thatthe recipient is not available. If the recipient is logged in, online,or otherwise available to receive digital communications, the digitalcommunication processor 142 sends or enables the recipient computersystem 120 to access the digital communication and the source audioidentifier (510).

The recipient computer system 120 receives or accesses the digitalcommunication and source audio identifier (512). The recipient computersystem 120 accesses the recipient communication exchange preferences anddetermines whether the recipient authorizes digital communications sentby the sender (i.e., determines whether the sender user identifier isincluded on the recipient's black list) (514). If the recipient does notauthorize digital communications from the sender, the digitalcommunication is discarded (516). In some implementations, the digitalcommunication processor 142 may additionally send a notification messageto the sender computer system 110 indicating that the digitalcommunication was not sent to the recipient. If the recipient authorizesdigital communications from the sender, the digital communicationprocessor 142 determines whether the recipient authorizes digitalcommunications with source audio identifiers based on the recipientcommunication exchange preferences (518).

FIG. 6 shows one implementation of operation 518 using an exemplarydefault response algorithm that asks the recipient whether to authorizeor reject the source audio identifier. The recipient computer system 120determines whether the sender is included on the white list of therecipient (518 a). If the sender is included on the white list, therecipient computer system 120 proceeds to operation 520. If the senderis not included on the white list, the recipient computer system 120determines whether the sender is included on the gray list of therecipient (518 b). If the sender is included on the gray list, therecipient computer system 120 proceeds to operation 522.

If the sender is not included on the white or gray lists, the recipientcomputer system 120 executes the default response algorithm by enablingthe recipient to perceive and respond to a query asking the recipientwhether to authorize or reject the source audio identifier (518 c). Therecipient may perceive the query (518 c) in a user interface like theone shown in FIG. 3B. Once the recipient responds to the query byselecting one or more options (518 c), the recipient computer system 120determines whether the selected options correspond to authorization orrejection of the digital communication (518 d). If the selected optionsreject the digital communication, the recipient computer system 120discards the digital communication (518 e). If selected optionsauthorize the digital communication, the recipient computer system 120determines whether the selected options correspond to authorization orrejection of the source audio identifier (518 f). If the selectedoptions authorize the source audio identifier, the recipient computersystem 120 proceeds to operation 520. If the selected options do notauthorize the source audio identifier, the recipient computer system 120proceeds to operation 522.

Referring back to FIG. 5, if the recipient authorizes digitalcommunications with source audio identifiers (518), the recipientcomputer system 120 enables the recipient to perceive the source audioidentifier received with the digital communication (520) prior to orconcurrent to enabling the recipient to perceive the digitalcommunication (522). In another implementation, the recipient computersystem 120 stores the source audio identifier prior to enabling therecipient to perceive the source audio identifier. If the recipient doesnot authorize digital communications with source audio identifiers(i.e., the sender user identifier is included on the gray list of therecipient), the recipient computer system 120 enables the recipient toperceive the digital communication (522) without enabling the recipientto perceive the received source audio identifier.

The process 500 may be performed for each digital communication sent ina communication session between the sender computer system 110 and therecipient computer system 120. Alternatively, the process 500 may beperformed for the first digital communication sent in the communicationsession. The recipient computer system 120 may store the source audioidentifier, and the sender computer system 110 may then send subsequentdigital communications without the source audio identifier. Therecipient computer system 120 may then process the subsequent digitalcommunications in accordance with the determined recipient communicationexchange preferences, access the stored source audio identifier, andenable the recipient to perceive the stored source audio identifier ifappropriate.

In another implementation, the sender computer system 110 also sends asender profile with the source audio identifier and the digitalcommunication. The sender profile is received by the recipient computersystem 120 along with the digital communication and source audioidentifier. All or part of the sender profile may be stored andperceived by the recipient if the recipient computer system 120determines that the recipient authorizes digital communications from thesender.

In yet another implementation, the digital communication processor 142,rather than the sender computer system 110, stores the source audioidentifiers (e.g., the source audio identifiers may be stored in theaudio identifier data store 144), and the recipient computer system 120stores and applies user communication exchange preferences. In thisimplementation, the sender computer system 110 sends a digitalcommunication without a source audio identifier, and the digitalcommunication processor 142 receives the digital communication,determines whether the recipient is available to receive digitalcommunications, and, if the recipient is available, accesses and sends asource audio identifier to the recipient computer system 120 in additionto sending the digital communication. The recipient computer system 120receives the source audio identifier and digital communication andprocesses the source audio identifier and digital communication inaccordance with operations 512-522.

Referring to FIG. 7, a system 700 for enabling the exchange of digitalcommunications with source audio identifiers includes a sender computersystem 710 that sends a digital communication and source audioidentifier to a recipient computer system 720 through a network 730. Thesender computer system 710 and recipient computer system 720respectively include devices 710A, 720A that communicate withcontrollers 710B, 720B over a data pathway 710C, 720C. Examples of eachelement within the communications system 700 of FIG. 7 are describedbroadly above with respect to FIG. 1. In particular, the sender computersystem 710, the recipient computer system 720, and the network 730typically have attributes comparable to those described above withrespect to the sender computer system 110, the recipient computer system120, and the network 130 of FIG. 1, respectively.

The sender computer system 710, however, differs from the sendercomputer system 110 in that the sender computer system 710 does not senddigital communications to a digital communications handling system (140in FIG. 1). Rather, the sender computer system 710 directly sendsdigital communications and a source audio identifier to the recipientcomputer system 720 through a direct connection. The direct connectionmay be, for example, an open socket connection (i.e., peer-to-peersocket connection) such as, for example, an open Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP) connection. Both the sender computer system 710 and therecipient computer system 720 may include a Winsock Application ProgramInterface (API) for establishing the direct connection. In oneimplementation, the digital communications sent by sender computersystem 710 are instant messages.

FIG. 8 shows a process 800 for enabling a presentation of a source audioidentifier upon receipt of a digital communication received from thesender computer system over a direct connection. For convenience,particular components described with respect to FIG. 7 are referenced asperforming the process 800. However, similar methodologies may beapplied in other implementations where different components are used todefine the structure of the system, or where the functionality isdistributed differently among the components shown by FIG. 7.

The sender computer system 710 sends or enables the recipient computersystem 720 to access a digital communication and a source audioidentifier (802). The recipient computer system 720 receives or accessesthe digital communication and source audio identifier (804). Therecipient computer system 720 accesses the recipient communicationexchange preferences and determines whether the recipient authorizesdigital communications sent by the sender (i.e., determines whether thesender user identifier is included on the recipient's black list) (806).If the recipient does not authorize digital communications from thesender, the digital communication is discarded (808). In someimplementations, the recipient computer system 720 may additionally senda notification message to the sender computer system 710 indicating thatthe digital communication was discarded (not shown). If the recipientauthorizes digital communications from the sender, the digitalcommunication processor 142 determines whether the recipient authorizesdigital communications with source audio identifiers based on therecipient communication exchange preferences (i.e., white and gray listsand the default response algorithm) (810).

If the recipient authorizes digital communications with source audioidentifiers, the recipient computer system 720 enables the recipient toperceive the source audio identifier received with the digitalcommunication (812) prior to or concurrent to enabling the recipient toperceive the digital communication (814). In another implementation, therecipient computer system 720 stores the source audio identifier priorto enabling the recipient to perceive the source audio identifier. Ifthe recipient does not authorize digital communications with sourceaudio identifiers (e.g., the sender user identifier is included on thegray list of the recipient), the recipient computer system 720 enablesthe recipient to perceive the digital communication (814) withoutenabling the recipient to perceive the received source audio identifier.

The process 800 may be performed for each digital communication sent ina communication session between the sender computer system 710 and therecipient computer system 720. Alternatively, the process 800 may beperformed for the first digital communication sent in the communicationsession. The recipient computer system 720 may store the source audioidentifier, and the sender computer system 710 may then send subsequentdigital communications without the source audio identifier. Therecipient computer system 720 may then process the subsequent digitalcommunications in accordance with the determined recipient communicationexchange preferences, access the stored source audio identifier, andenable the recipient to perceive the stored source audio identifier ifappropriate.

In another implementation, the sender computer system 710 also sends asender profile with the source audio identifier and the digitalcommunication. The sender profile is received by the recipient computersystem 720 along with the digital communication and source audioidentifier. All or part of the sender profile may be stored andperceived by the recipient if the recipient computer system 720determines that the recipient authorizes digital communications from thesender.

The above systems and processes may be used for both voice and datacommunication contexts. FIGS. 9-11 illustrate one possibleimplementation of source audio identifiers used in a voice communicationcontext.

Referring to FIG. 9, a telephone system 100 for enabling telephone callswith source audio identifiers includes a caller phone 910 thatcommunicates with a call recipient phone 920 through a telephone network930. The telephone network 930 may access an audio identifier data store944 and a configuration data store 946. In some implementations, theaudio identifier data store 944 and the configuration data store 946 arepart of the telephone network 930.

The caller phone 910 and the call recipient phone 920 may be landlinetelephones that allow communications over the telephone network 930. Inanother implementation, the caller phone 910 and/or the call destinationphone 920 may be mobile telephones or mobile personal digital assistants(PDAs) with embedded cellular phone technology.

The caller phone 910 is configured to place a call to the call recipientphone 920 across the telephone network 930. In another implementation,the caller phone 910 may additionally be configured to send a sourceaudio identifier to the caller recipient phone 920 as part of the callsetup. The caller phone 910 may send the source audio identifier as anin-band or out-of-band signal through the telephone network 930. In acellular or mobile phone system, the caller phone 910 may, for example,send the source audio identifier as a message using Multimedia MessageService (MMS) or Short Message Service (SMS) prior to or concurrent tosending the call setup request. The MMS or SMS message typicallyincludes the sender user identifier and may contain some or all of thesender profile. In another implementation, the caller phone 910 and thecall recipient phone 920 have Internet access and the caller phone 910may send the source audio identifier over the Internet to the callrecipient phone 920.

When the source audio identifier is sent as an out-of-band signal, thecaller phone 910 may receive the source audio identifier before or afterreceiving the ringing signal from the telephone network 930. If thecaller phone 910 has received multiple source audio identifiers prior toreceiving the ringing signal, the caller phone 910 identifies theappropriate source audio identifier based on the caller identityinformation (e.g., Automatic Number Identification (ANI) information).If the caller phone 910 has not received a source audio identifier uponreceiving the ringing signal from the telephone network 930, the callerphone 910 may wait a short predetermined amount of time to receive thesource audio identifier. If no source audio identifier is received afterexpiration of the predetermined amount of time, the caller phone 910 mayuse a default ringing signal.

The call recipient phone 920 is configured to receive an incoming calland a source audio identifier from the telephone network 930 and enablea recipient to perceive the incoming call and, if applicable, the sourceaudio identifier. The call recipient phone 920 may be configured tostore the source audio identifier and enable the recipient to perceivethe source audio identifier as a ringing signal that indicates anincoming call from the corresponding caller. For example, the sourceaudio identifier may be stored as a set of full music or standard ringtones. The call recipient phone 920 also may be configured to storedefault ringing signals that are played if the caller does not send asource audio identifier or, alternatively, if the caller sends a sourceaudio identifier, but the call recipient does not allow the source audioidentifier to be played. The default ringing signals may vary based onthe direct number of the caller phone 910. In a cellular or mobile phonesystem, the call recipient phone 920 may, for example, receive thesource audio identifier in an MMS or SMS message prior to or concurrentto receiving the incoming call. In another implementation, the callrecipient phone 920 has Internet access and receives the source audioidentifier over the Internet prior to or concurrent to receiving theincoming call. The call recipient phone 920 plays the source audioidentifier upon receiving a ringing signal from the telephone network930.

In yet another implementation, the call recipient phone 920 maydetermine whether or not to play the source audio identifier as aringing signal and whether or not to accept the call. In thisimplementation, the call recipient phone 920 is configured to store usercommunication exchange preferences and determine whether to allow thesource audio identifier to be played in accordance with the usercommunication exchange preferences.

The telephone network 930 is configured to enable direct or indirectvoice communications between the caller phone 910 and the calldestination phone 920. The telephone network 930 may include acircuit-switched voice network, a packet-switched data network, or anyother network able to carry voice. For example, circuit-switched voicenetworks may include the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), andpacket-switched data networks may include networks based on the Internetprotocol (IP) or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and may support voiceusing, for example, Voice-over-IP, Voice-over-ATM, or other comparableprotocols used for voice data communications.

The telephone network 930 may be configured to receive the direct numberof the call recipient phone from the caller phone 910, access aconfiguration data store 942 to determine whether the caller hasregistered for source audio identifier service, access a correspondingsource audio identifier, and send a call setup request and a sourceaudio identifier, if applicable, to the call recipient phone 920. Thesource audio identifier may be sent as an in-band or out-of-band signalprior to or concurrent to sending the call setup request to the callerphone 910. In one implementation, the telephone network 930 isconfigured to process MMS or SMS messages and transmit the source audioidentifier as an MMS or SMS message. In another implementation, thetelephone network 930 may send the source audio identifier to the callrecipient phone 920 over the Internet prior to or concurrent to settingup the call. The call recipient phone 920 plays the source audioidentifier upon receiving a ringing signal from the telephone network930 corresponding to the caller, e.g., using the ANI informationassociated with the caller telephone number as a means for coordinatingthe incoming call and the source audio identifier.

In another implementation, the telephone network 930 may be configuredto receive the source audio identifier from the caller phone 910 duringcall setup as an in-band or out-of-band signal. For example, thetelephone network 930 may be configured to receive the source audioidentifier or a link to the source audio identifier as an additionalcomponent of the call destination phone number received from the callerphone 910 through a signal path.

The audio identifier data store 942 and the configuration data store 946are described broadly above with respect to FIG. 1. In particular, theaudio identifier data store 942 and the configuration data store 946typically have attributes comparable to those described above withrespect to the audio identifier data store 142 and the configurationdata store 146 of FIG. 1, respectively. The audio identifier data store942 is configured to store the source audio identifiers as, for example,standard or full music ring tones encoded as digital data and indexed bythe direct number of the caller phone. The configuration data store 946is configured to store caller service profiles which indicate thetelephone services enabled on the phone line of the caller. The callerservice profiles include an indication whether the caller has registeredfor source audio identifier service and may be indexed by direct numberof the caller phone. The configuration data store 946 also may storeuser profiles and user communication exchange preferences. The audioidentifier data store 942 and the configuration data store 946 may beintegrated in a single data store.

FIG. 10 shows a process 1000 for enabling a presentation of a sourceaudio identifier as a ringing signal to indicate an incoming call from acaller. For convenience, particular components described with respect toFIG. 9 are referenced as performing the process 1000. However, similarmethodologies may be applied in other implementations where differentcomponents are used to define the structure of the system, or where thefunctionality is distributed differently among the components shown byFIG. 9.

The user of the caller phone 910 dials or otherwise specifies the directnumber of the call recipient phone 920 (1002). The telephone network 930receives the direct number of the call recipient phone 920 andidentifies the direct number of the caller phone 910 (1004). Thetelephone network 930 determines whether the call recipient phone lineis available to receive a call (1006). If the call recipient phone lineis busy or otherwise unavailable to receive a phone call, the telephonenetwork processes the call in accordance with the status of the callrecipient phone line (e.g., by sending a busy signal to the caller phone910) (1008).

If the call recipient phone line is available to receive a phone call,the telephone network 930 accesses the caller service profile from theconfiguration data store 946 (1010) and determines whether the caller isregistered for source audio identifier service based on the callerservice profile (1012). If the caller is not registered for source audioidentifier service the telephone network 930 sets up the call and sendsa ring tone trigger to the call recipient phone 920 (1026).

If the caller is registered for source audio identifier service, thetelephone network 930 accesses the user communication exchangepreferences corresponding to the direct number of the call recipientphone from the configuration data store 146 (1014) and determineswhether the call recipient allows the source audio identifier to beplayed (1016). Determining whether the call recipient allows the sourceaudio identifier to be played is accomplished in the same manner asdiscussed above with respect to operation 218 in FIGS. 2 and 3A, whereinthe telephone network 930 performs the function of the digitalcommunication processor 142 and the call recipient phone 920 performsthe function of the recipient computer system 120. The user interface300 also may be displayed by the call recipient phone 920 when thesender user identifier is not included on the gray, white, or blacklists of the recipient. In this implementation, the message is anincoming call and a special ringing tone is used to inform the recipientof the call and inform the recipient that the caller has a source audioidentifier. The call recipient may then decide whether to accept thecall and whether to authorize the source audio identifier or ring toneof the caller by interacting with the user interface 300.

If the call recipient does not allow the source audio identifier to beplayed, the telephone network 930 sets up the call and sends a ring tonetrigger to the call recipient phone 920 (1026). If the call recipientallows the source audio identifier to be played, the telephone network930 accesses the source audio identifier corresponding to the directnumber of the caller phone from the audio identifier data store 944(1018) and sends the source audio identifier to the call recipient phone920 (1020) prior to or concurrent to setting up the call and sending aring tone trigger to the call recipient phone (1026).

The call recipient phone 920 receives the source audio identifier (1024)and stores the source audio identifier (1026). Once the call is setupand the call recipient phone 920 receives the ring tone trigger, thecall recipient phone 920 identifies the caller typically using ANIinformation (1028) and determines whether a source audio identifier isavailable for the call (1030). If a source audio identifier is notavailable for the call, the call recipient phone 920 makes the ring toneperceivable by the call recipient by, for example, playing a generic ordefault ring tone (1034). If a source audio identifier is available forthe call, the call recipient phone 920 modifies the ring tone to includethe source audio identifier (e.g., by using the source audio identifieras the ring tone or by concatenating the source audio identifier withthe generic or default ring tone) (1032). The call recipient phone 920then makes the modified ring tone perceivable by the call recipient byplaying the modified ring tone (1034).

FIG. 11 shows a process 1100 for enabling a presentation of a sourceaudio identifier as a ringing signal that indicates an incoming callfrom a caller, wherein the caller phone sends the source audioidentifier to the call recipient phone through a telephone network. Forconvenience, particular components described with respect to FIG. 9 arereferenced as performing the process 1100. However, similarmethodologies may be applied in other implementations where differentcomponents are used to define the structure of the system, or where thefunctionality is distributed differently among the components shown byFIG. 9.

The user of the caller phone 910 dials or otherwise specifies the directnumber of the call recipient phone 920 and specifies the source audioidentifier (1102). The telephone network 930 receives the direct numberof the call recipient phone 920 and the source audio identifier (1104).The telephone network 930 determines whether the call recipient phoneline is available to receive a call (1106). If the call recipient phoneline is busy or otherwise unavailable to receive a phone call, thetelephone network 130 processes the call in accordance with the statusof the call recipient phone line (e.g., by sending a busy signal to thecaller phone 910) (1108). If the call recipient phone line is availableto receive a phone call, the telephone network 130 sends the sourceaudio identifier to the call recipient phone 920 (1110) prior to orconcurrent to setting up the call and sending a ring tone trigger to thecall recipient phone 920 (1120).

The call recipient phone 920 receives the source audio identifier (1112)and determines whether the call recipient allows the source audioidentifier to be played (1114). Determining whether the call recipientallows the source audio identifier to be played may be accomplished inthe manner discussed above with respect to operation 518 in FIGS. 5 and6, wherein the telephone network 930 performs the function of thedigital communication processor 142 and the call recipient phone 920performs the function of the recipient computer system 120.

If the call recipient does not allow the source audio identifier to beplayed, the call recipient phone 920 discards the source audioidentifier (1116). If the call recipient allows the source audioidentifier to be played, the call recipient phone stores the sourceaudio identifier (1118).

Once the call is setup and the call recipient phone 920 receives thering tone trigger, the call recipient phone 920 identifies the callertypically using ANI information (1122) and determines whether a sourceaudio identifier is available for the call (1124). If a source audioidentifier is not available for the call, the call recipient phone 920makes the ring tone perceivable by the call recipient by, for example,playing a generic or default ring tone (1128). If a source audioidentifier is available for the call, the call recipient phone 920modifies the ring tone to include the source audio identifier (e.g., byusing the source audio identifier as the ring tone or by concatenatingthe source audio identifier with the generic or default ring tone)(1126). The call recipient phone 920 then makes the modified ring toneperceivable by the call recipient by playing the modified ring tone(1128).

In yet another implementation, the telephone network 930, rather thanthe caller phone 910, stores the source audio identifiers (e.g., thesource audio identifiers may be stored in the audio identifier datastore 144), and the call recipient phone 920 stores and applies usercommunication exchange preferences. In this implementation, the callerphone 910 sends a digital communication without a source audioidentifier, and the telephone network 930 receives the digitalcommunication, determines whether the recipient phone line is availableto receive an incoming call, and, if the recipient phone line isavailable, accesses and sends a source audio identifier to the callrecipient phone 920 in addition to setting up the call. The callrecipient phone 920 receives the source audio identifier and processesthe source audio identifier in accordance with operations 1112-1128.

The source audio identifier may be a single sound that identifies thesender or, alternatively, may be a concatenated audio message formedfrom multiple sounds that are concatenated together to identify one ormore characteristics of the sender or of the communication in addition,or as an alternative to the sender identity. As shown in FIG. 12, in onepossible implementation, the concatenated audio message 1200 includes afirst sound 1210 signifying a characteristic or trait of the sender orcommunication followed by a second sound 1220 that identifies theindividual sender (e.g., the spoken version of the sender's name). Theidentity sounds are chosen to identify the individual sender while thecharacteristic sounds are chosen to describe, qualify, or characterizethe sender. Characteristic sounds may include, but are not limited to, asound that identifies the location from which the sender iscalling/sending (e.g. from California, home, work, or school), a jobgroup to which the sender belongs (e.g., a doctor, a lawyer, anelectrician, a mechanic, or a plumber), an organization to which themember belongs or works (e.g., the Porsche Club of America, the NationalRifle Association, the Rotary Club, Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, andCooper Power Systems), other group membership by the sender (e.g., buddygroup in a recipient's instant message buddy list or category in therecipient's content list), the urgency or importance of the digitalcommunication or call (e.g., a low-pitched sound may indicate that thecall is not urgent while a high-pitched sound may indicate that the callis very urgent), the type of call or digital communication (e.g., asocial call, a business call, an e-mail, an instant message, a callwishing the recipient a happy birthday, or a call wishing the recipienta happy anniversary), the type of communication device used to send thedigital communication (e.g., a desktop personal computer, a pager, aPDA, or a mobile phone), the online status of the sender (e.g., onlineor offline), the availability to receive communications over differentcommunication devices including a cell phone, PDA, or desktop computer,the availability to receive different types of communications (e-mails,phone calls, IMs)), the number of degrees of separation between thesenders and recipient, or the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of adegrees separation threshold by sender.

The concatenated audio message may be formed of any combination ofidentity and/or characteristic sounds. For example, a concatenated audiomessage may be formed solely of identity sounds or, alternatively, maybe formed solely of characteristic sounds.

Referring to FIG. 13, the concatenated audio message 1300 may providemultiple levels of information regarding the sender/caller or thecommunication sent by the sender by concatenating multiple differentcharacteristic sounds 1310 and identity sounds 1320. FIG. 13 shows thecharacteristic sounds 1310 concatenated at the beginning of theconcatenated audio message 1300 and the identity sounds 1320concatenated at the end of the concatenated audio message 1300. However,any order of concatenation is possible. As more sounds are concatenated,the sender is able to provide the call recipient with increasing levelsof information. When the concatenated audio message is used as a ringtone, the concatenated sounds may be played multiple times in successionuntil the recipient answers the phone or the call is otherwise disposedof.

The length of each concatenated sound within the concatenated audiomessage may be specified by the sender. The sender computer system 110,510 or the caller phone 910 may enable the sender to limit the lengthand number of concatenated sounds that may be sent. Additionally oralternatively, the digital communication processor 142 or the telephonenetwork 930 may limit the total length of the concatenated audio messageor the total number and length of each particular concatenated sound inthe concatenated audio message.

The length of each concatenated sound within the concatenated audiomessage also may be specified by the recipient. The concatenated audiomessage may be encoded such that the recipient computer system 120, 520or the call recipient phone 920 recognizes and distinguishes betweeneach concatenated sound. The recipient computer system 120, 520 or thecall recipient phone 920 may enable the recipient to control whethereach concatenated sound is played and the length of each concatenatedsound. The recipient may control the playback of each concatenated soundwhile the concatenated sounds are playing (e.g., may select a functionon the call recipient phone 920 or the recipient computer system 120,520 to skip to the next concatenated sound), or, additionally oralternatively, the recipient may setup user communication exchangepreferences that specify the length, number, and type of concatenatedsounds that are played upon receipt of a concatenated audio message.

In another implementation, the digital communication processor 142 orthe telephone network 920 processes the concatenated audio message inaccordance with the user communication exchange preferences of therecipient prior to sending the concatenated audio message to therecipient computer system 120, 520 or to the call recipient phone 920.In yet another implementation, the length of the concatenated audiomessage that is played is a default or a preselected value and is notspecified by the recipient or the sender. The length also may be variedon a per-group or a per-user basis.

The concatenated audio message also may be concatenated with one or morerecipient-specified sounds. The recipient-specified sounds may becharacteristic sounds or identity sounds. For example, the recipient mayselect or define a characteristic sound that indicates that the senderis a member of the buddy list of the recipient. When a recipientreceives an Instant Message from a sender listed in the buddy list ofthe recipient, a concatenated audio message may be formed byconcatenating a recipient-specified buddy list characteristic sound tothe end of the sender-specified sound(s). By listening to theconcatenated audio message, the recipient is able to both identify thesender and determine that the sender is a member of the buddy list ofthe recipient. The characteristic sound may be modified to indicate thatthe sender belongs to the co-worker or family groups in the buddy listof the recipient or, alternatively, to indicate that the sender belongsto any arbitrary group defined by the recipient, by the recipientcomputer system 120, 520, or by the call recipient phone 920.

The recipient also may specify identity sounds. For example, a recipientmay specify an identity sound saying “DaBigBoss!” to indicate receipt ofa communication from the recipient's boss. If the boss has chosen asender-specified identity sound saying “John”, the recipient hears“DaBigBoss! John” upon receipt of a digital communication or a call fromthe boss.

FIG. 14 shows a concatenated audio message 1400 that includessender-specified sounds 1410 concatenated with one or morerecipient-specified characteristic sounds 1420 and one or morerecipient-specified identity sounds 1430. FIG. 15A shows another exampleof a concatenated audio message 1500 formed by mixing and concatenatingsender-specified sounds 1510 and recipient-specified sounds 1520. Theorder in which the sounds are concatenated may be varied. For example,the sounds specified by the recipient may appear first, followed by thesounds specified by the sender.

In another implementation, all or some of the sounds in the concatenatedaudio message are not specified by the recipient or by the sender butrather are more globally defined. For example, the sounds may be definedby the DCHS 140, by the telephone network 930, or by another systemcommunicatively coupled to the recipient computer system 120, 520 or tothe call recipient phone 920.

FIG. 16 shows a process 1600 for creating and enabling perception of aconcatenated audio message that includes recipient-specified sounds.Process 1600 may be performed by the recipient computer system 120, 520or by the call recipient phone 920. Additionally or alternatively,process 1600 may be performed by the digital communication processor 142or by the telephone network 930.

A source audio identifier is received or accessed (1610). The accessingof the source audio identifier may correspond to operation 228 ofprocess 200, operation 512 of process 500, operation 804 of process 800,operation 1018 of process 1000, or operation 1104 of process 1100. Theidentity of the sender and characteristics of the sender orcommunication are determined (1620). The identity of the sender may bedetermined from the sender user identifier of the digital communication,the direct number of the call, or from sender identity informationincluded or received with the source audio identifier. The recipientcomputer system 120, 520, the call recipient phone 920, the digitalcommunication processor 142, or the telephone network 930 may determinethe identity or characteristics of the caller/sender or communication byaccessing the configuration data store 144, 944 or by accessing one ormore local or remote data stores or computer systems (includingmessaging systems) that store or are able to access and provide identityand characteristics information regarding the caller or thecommunication. For example, the call recipient phone 920 or therecipient computer system 120, 520 may access local storage to determinethat the caller/sender is in the address book of the recipient and isdesignated as a coworker in that address book. Additionally oralternatively, the call recipient phone 920 or the recipient computersystem 120, 520 may access an instant messaging system to determine thatthe recipient is online and available to receive instant messages.

Identity and characteristic sounds may be accessed based on thedetermined identity and characteristics (1630). The identity andcharacteristic sounds are specified by the recipient and may be storedin the audio identifier data store 144, 944 or in a data storageincluded with or accessible to the recipient computer system 120, 520,the call recipient phone 920, the digital communication processor 142,or the telephone network 930. The accessed sounds are concatenatedtogether with the source audio identifier to form a concatenated audiomessage with recipient-specified sounds (1640). For example, the callrecipient phone 920 or the recipient computer system 120, 520 may accessa characteristic sound corresponding to one second of a somber funeralmarch to indicate that the sender/caller is a coworker and may access asecond characteristic sound corresponding to a high-pitched bell soundthat indicates that the sender/caller is online and available to receiveinstant messages. Referring to FIG. 15B, if the source audio identifiercorresponds to the sound of a rooster, the concatenated audio message1520 corresponds to one second of a somber funeral march followed by thesound of a rooster which is, in turn, followed by a high-pitched bellsound.

Operations 1620-1640 may occur, for example, after operation 228 andbefore operation 230 of process 200; after operation 518 and beforeoperation 520 of process 500; after operation 810 and before operation812 of process 800; after operation 1018 and before operation 1020 ofprocess 1000; or after operation 1116 and before operation 1120 ofprocess 1100.

Once the concatenated audio message with recipient-specified sounds isformed, the recipient is enabled to perceive the concatenated audiomessage (1650). Operation 1650 corresponds to operations 230-236 ofprocess 200, operation 520 of process 500, operation 812 of process 800,operations 1020 and 1024-1028 of operation 1000, and operations 1120 and1122 of process 1100, wherein the source audio identifier is now theconcatenated audio message in the above operations.

Concatenated audio messages may be used in communications systems thatdo not use sender-specified sounds. In this implementation, therecipient computer system 120, 520, the call recipient phone 920, thetelephone network 930, or the digital communication processor 142receives or otherwise accesses a call or digital communication from asender rather than accessing a source audio identifier as specified byoperation 1610. Operations 1620-1650 are then performed to generate andenable perception of a concatenated audio message. The concatenatedaudio message, however, does not include a source audio identifier.

Concatenated audio messages also may be used to audibly inform a user ofcommunication-related events that are not related to the receipt of acommunication. For example, concatenated audio messages may be used inan instant messaging context to audibly inform a user of presence statechanges of a member of the buddy list of the user (i.e., a “buddy”). Forinstance, the typical door opening/door closing sound that is played toa user when a buddy signs on or off is an event identity sound and maybe concatenated with an event characteristic sound indicating preciselywhich buddy is signing on or off or that a buddy within aparticular-buddy category or having a particular characteristic issigning on or off. Furthermore, another event characteristic soundindicating that the user is a member of the family or co-workerssubgroups of the buddy list of the user also may be concatenated to thedoor opening/door closing sound to further audibly classify the usersigning on or off.

FIG. 17 shows a concatenated audio message for an event 1700. Theconcatenated audio message for an event 1700 may include any combinationof event identity sounds 1710 and event characteristic sounds 1720. Theevent identity sounds 1710 identifies the specific event and aretypically unique to that event. The event characteristic sounds 1720further describe, qualify, and classify the event and are typicallyapplicable to multiple different events. The concatenated audio messagefor an event 1700 also may optionally include any combination of useridentity sounds 1730 and/or characteristic sounds (not shown).

FIG. 18 shows a process 1800 for creating and enabling perception of aconcatenated audio message upon detection of the occurrence of an event.Process 1800 may be performed by the recipient computer system 120, 520or by the call recipient phone 920. Additionally or alternatively,process 1800 may be performed by the digital communication processor 142or by the telephone network 930.

The occurrence of an event is detected (1810). The identity of the eventand characteristics of the event are determined (1620). The identity ofthe event is typically tracked by the application that generates theevent and may be identified through interactions with that application.Characteristics of that event also may be tracked by that applicationand determined either through interactions with that application or byaccessing data storage devices or systems communicatively coupled to therecipient computer system 120, 520, the call recipient phone 920, thedigital communication processor 142, or the telephone network 930.

The event identity and event characteristic sounds may be accessed basedon the determined identity and characteristics of the event (1830). Theevent identity and event characteristic sounds may be stored in theaudio identifier data store 144, 944 or in a data storage included withor accessible to the recipient computer system 120, 520, the callrecipient phone 920, the digital communication processor 142, or thetelephone network 930. The accessed sounds are concatenated together toform a concatenated audio message (1840). Once the concatenated audiomessage is formed, the user is enabled to perceive the concatenatedaudio message (1650). The call recipient phone 920 or the recipientcomputer system 120, 520 typically plays the concatenated audio messageupon occurrence of the event and, thereby, enables the user to hear theconcatenated audio message and identify the event and itscharacteristics.

In a more general implementation, concatenated audio messages may beused in any applications, not just communication-related applications,which inform users of the occurrence of events wherein the events may bedescribed as belonging to multiple associated, nested, or hierarchicalclasses. The concatenated audio message may include an event identitysound that identifies the event and one or more event characteristicsounds that indicate the classes and subclasses in which the event iscategorized.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made. For example, thesource audio identifier may be a video identifier, rather than an audioidentifier, and may be perceived by the recipient each time a digitalcommunication or call is received from the sender. Additionally oralternatively, the sender identifier may be an audiovisual presentationor any other non-textual form of identifier that may be perceived by therecipient as an indicator of the identity of the sender. The sourceaudio identifier may be larger than 2 megabits in size or smaller than120 kilobits in size. The source audio identifier, when converted toaudio, may produce more than 2 seconds of sound or less than one secondof sound.

The following is a list of additional implementations. One or acombination of the following implementations may be used to add variousfunctions or features.

In a first implementation, the digital communication processor 142, thetelephone network 930, the sender computer system 110, 520, or thecaller phone 910 may communicate with the recipient computer system todetermine whether the recipient computer system 120, 520 has alreadystored the source audio identifier prior to sending a source audioidentifier. If the recipient computer system 120, 520 has already storeda source audio identifier for the sender, no source audio identifier maybe sent by the digital communication processor 142, by the telephonenetwork 930, by the sender computer system 110, 510, or by the callerphone 910.

In a second implementation, the default response algorithm of FIG. 3Aand FIG. 6 and may include an option to store the digital communicationfor later retrieval. If this option is selected, the digitalcommunication is stored in a data store corresponding to the recipient(e.g., an e-mail inbox) and may be accessed by the recipient at a laterdate. The user interface 300 of FIG. 3B also may include an optionbutton and a check box that may be selected to store the current digitalcommunication and all future digital communications from that sender,respectively, for later retrieval.

In a third implementation, the digital communication processor 142 maynot send the complete digital communication to the recipient computersystem 120, upon receipt of that digital communication from the sendercomputer system 110. Instead, the digital communication processor 142may store the digital communication and send a portion of the digitalcommunication to the recipient computer system 120 with or without thesource audio identifier. The recipient may perceive the source audioidentifier upon receiving the portion of the digital communication fromthe digital communication processor 142. The recipient perceives theportion of the digital communication and determines whether he or shewants to perceive the complete digital communication based on theperceived portion. The recipient may then choose to perceive thecomplete digital communication, and the recipient computer system 120enables the recipient to access the complete digital communication fromthe appropriate data store. For example, in an e-mail oriented context,the digital communication processor 142 may receive an e-mail addressedto the recipient, may store the e-mail in the inbox corresponding to therecipient, and may send header information (e.g., sender e-mail address,time and date sent, subject of e-mail, and recipients of e-mail) and, ifapplicable, the source audio identifier to the recipient computer system120. The recipient computer system 120 may play the source audioidentifier upon receipt of the header information and may include all orsome of the header information of the received e-mail in the inbox listdisplayed to the recipient. The recipient may then select the headerinformation for that e-mail and the recipient computer system 120 thenenables the recipient to access and perceive the complete e-mail storedin the inbox of the recipient.

In a fourth implementation, if the received digital communication is ane-mail, the concatenated audio message may include an identity orcharacteristic sound that corresponds to the “true source” of an e-mailthat has been forwarded, or that corresponds to the identities listed inthe “cc” or “bcc” fields of the e-mail header. The identity orcharacteristic sound may be an alternative to or an addition to anidentity sound corresponding to the identity listed in the “from” fieldof the e-mail header (i.e., the direct source of the e-mail).Additionally, the digital communication processor 142 or the recipientcomputer system 120 may automatically bypass the concatenated audiomessage in situations where the recipient is merely listed in the “cc”or “bcc” fields of the e-mail header. The volume of the identity orcharacteristic sounds also may be varied to signify different levels ofimportance of the recipient or e-mail. For example, if the recipient islisted in the “to” field of the e-mail address header, the volume may beset to the highest level while if the recipient is listed in the “bcc”field, the volume may be set to the lowest level. If the e-mail isdesignated as “urgent” by the sender, the volume also may be set to itshighest level.

In a fifth implementation, the DCHS 140 or telephone network 930 maytrack the source audio identifiers that have been sent to and stored bythe recipient computer system 120 or by the call recipient phone 920. Ifthe DCHS 140 or telephone network 930 determines that the source audioidentifier has already been locally stored by the recipient computersystem 120 or by the call recipient phone 920, the DCHS 140 or thetelephone network 920 may not send the source audio identifier to therecipient computer system 120 or to the call recipient phone 920. Therecipient computer system 120 or the call recipient phone 920 may accessand play the source audio identifier based on the sender user identifierof the incoming call or received digital communication.

In a sixth implementation, the digital communication processor 142, thetelephone network 930, the sender computer system 110, 510, or thecaller phone 910 may send to the recipient computer system 120, 520 orto the call recipient phone 920 a link to the source audio identifierrather than sending the source audio identifier itself. The recipientcomputer system 120, 520 or the call recipient phone 920 may use thelink to access the source audio identifier. The link may be, forexample, a Universal Resource Locator (URL) that specifies a web sitestorage location where the source audio identifier is stored.

In a seventh implementation, the digital communication processor 142 maydetermine whether the sender has an associated source audio identifierupon receipt of a digital communication prior to accessing or applyingrecipient communication exchange preferences. If the sender or callerhas an associated source audio identifier, the digital communicationprocessor 142 may proceed as in operations 206-238 of process 200. If nosource audio identifier is associated with the sender, the digitalcommunication processor 142 may handle the digital communication or callin the same manner as an ordinary digital communication is handled. Thedigital communication processor 142 may access the audio identifier datastore 144 based on the sender user identifier to initially determinewhether the sender has an associated source audio identifier. If nosource audio identifier corresponding to the sender user identifier isstored in the audio identifier data store 144, then the sender is deemedto not have an associated source audio identifier.

In an eighth implementation, the digital communication processor 142 orthe recipient computer system 120 may always query the recipientregarding how to deal with a heretofore unknown source audio identifier.The recipient may select from among various audio identifier controloptions like the ones described with respect to FIG. 3B to determine howto handle the received message with source audio identifier and how tohandle future messages with source audio identifiers received from thesame source.

In a ninth implementation, the user communication exchange preferencesmay be stored and consulted/invoked locally or remote to the sendercomputer system 120 or to an intermediary computer system (e.g., thedigital communication processor 142) in each of the processes andsystems described with respect to FIGS. 2, 3A, 4, 5, and 6.

In a tenth implementation, the user interface 300 may include additionalcontrol options that provide a recipient with greater control over audioidentifiers. For example, the user interface 300 may include an optionthat enables the source audio identifier to be presented upon receipt ofa first digital communication from the source in a communication sessionbetween the source and the recipient and enables a second audioidentifier to be presented upon receipt of each of the other digitalcommunications received from the source during that communicationsession. The second audio identifier is different than the first audioidentifier and may be designated by the recipient or by the sender.Alternatively, the second audio identifier may be a generic audioidentifier not designated by either the recipient or by the sender. Theuser interface 300 also may include an option that enables the secondaudio identifier to be presented upon receipt of a first digitalcommunication in the communication session and enables the source audioidentifier to be presented upon receipt of each of the other digitalcommunications received from the source during that communicationsession. The user interface 300 also may include an option that thesource audio identifier or the second audio identifier is presented uponreceipt of a first digital communication in the communication sessionand no audio identifier is presented upon receipt of each of the otherdigital communications received from the source during thatcommunication session.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a digitalcommunication from a sender directed to a recipient; determining whetherthe digital communication is associated with an audio identifier thatidentifies the sender; accessing communication exchange preferencesassociated with the recipient; determining whether the communicationexchange preferences have been setup to handle audio identifiers fordigital communications from the sender; if the communication exchangepreferences have been setup to handle audio identifiers for digitalcommunications from the sender, rendering of the audio identifier priorto or concurrent with presentation of the digital communication forperception by the recipient; and if the communication exchangepreferences have not been setup to handle audio identifiers for digitalcommunication from the sender, rendering a call notification userinterface for perception by the recipient in response to the digitalcommunication; and conditioning the rendering of the audio identifier onwhether the recipient, through interactions with the call notificationuser interface, enables the audio identifier designated by the sender tobe rendered for digital communications from the sender.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the audio identifier is a spoken version of a useridentifier of the sender.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the audioidentifier includes a first sound designated by the sender concatenatedwith a second sound not designated by the sender.
 4. The method of claim3, wherein the second sound is designated by the recipient.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the audio identifier includes a first sounddesignated by the sender concatenated with a second sound thatidentifies a group to which the sender belongs.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein the group to which the sender belongs is a job group, anorganization to which the sender belongs or works, or a buddy group inan instant messaging buddy list of the recipient.
 7. The method of claim1, wherein the audio identifier includes a first sound designated by thesender concatenated with a second sound that identifies a location fromwhich the sender is sending.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the audioidentifier includes a first sound designated by the sender concatenatedwith a second sound that identifies an urgency or importance of thedigital communication.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the audioidentifier includes a first sound designated by the sender concatenatedwith a second sound that indicates whether the sender is currentlyonline.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether thedigital communication is associated with an audio identifier comprisesdetermining whether an audio identifier has been received from thesender.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining whether theaudio identifier has been received from the sender comprises determiningwhether the audio identifier has been received in an MMS or SMS messageprior to or concurrent to receiving the digital communication.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein determining whether an audio identifier hasbeen received from the sender includes determining whether the audioidentifier has been received with the digital communication.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the rendering of the audio identifier isallowed when communication exchange preferences of the recipientexplicitly include a setting indicating that the recipient is allowed toperceive the audio identifier.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thesetting is set by the recipient in response to a query.
 15. The methodof claim 1, wherein the rendering of the audio identifier is not allowedwhen the communication exchange preferences explicitly include a settingindicating that the recipient is not allowed to perceive the audioidentifier.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the setting is set bythe recipient in response to a query.
 17. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: before rendering the call notification user interface,playing, in response to the digital communication, a special ring toneindicating to the recipient that the digital communication is associatedwith an audio identifier designated by the sender and that nocommunication exchange preferences have been setup for digitalcommunications from the caller.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein therendering of the audio identifier also is conditioned on whether therecipient is available to receive the digital communication.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising rendering for perception by therecipient a sender profile.
 20. A computer system comprising: a datastore configured to store audio identifiers; and a digital communicationprocessor configured to: receive a digital communication from a senderdirected to a recipient, determine whether the digital communication isassociated with an audio identifier that identifies the sender; accesscommunication exchange preferences associated with the recipient;determine whether the communication exchange preferences have been setupto handle audio identifiers for digital communications from the sender;if the communication exchange preferences have been setup to handleaudio identifiers for digital communications from the sender, access theaudio identifier from the data store and render the audio identifierprior to or concurrent with presentation of the digital communicationfor perception by the recipient; and if the communication exchangepreferences have not been setup to handle audio identifiers for digitalcommunication from the sender, render a call notification user interfacefor perception by the recipient in response to the digitalcommunication; and condition the rendering of the audio identifier onwhether the recipient, through interactions with the call notificationuser interface, enables the audio identifier designated by the sender tobe rendered for digital communications from the sender.
 21. An apparatuscomprising: means for receiving a phone call from a caller directed to arecipient; means for determining whether the phone call is associatedwith an audio identifier that identifies the caller and that isdesignated by the caller; means for accessing communication exchangepreferences associated with the recipient; means for determining whetherthe communication exchange preferences have been setup to handle audioidentifiers for digital communications from the sender; if thecommunication exchange preferences have been setup to handle audioidentifiers for digital communications from the sender, means forrendering of the audio identifier prior to or concurrent withpresentation of the digital communication for perception by therecipient; and if the communication exchange preferences have not beensetup to handle audio identifiers for digital communication from thesender, means for rendering a call notification user interface forperception by the recipient in response to the digital communication;and means for conditioning the rendering of the audio identifier onwhether the recipient, through interactions with the call notificationuser interface, enables the audio identifier designated by the sender tobe rendered for digital communications from the sender.